Strikes to hit Volkswagen in December as clash with labour escalates

BERLIN (Reuters) -Workers at Volkswagen could go out on strike across Germany as soon as next week, the IG Metall union said in a notice on Friday, as a clash between labour and management over layoffs and plant closures escalates.

“Strikes are possible and also necessary from the beginning of December,” IG Metall said in a handout to workers seen by Reuters, adding an existing agreement not to stage walkouts will end on Nov. 30.

Warning strikes at the carmaker’s plants across Germany are expected to take place as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, which would mark the first large-scale walkouts at the company’s domestic operations since 2018. Warning strikes usually last from a few hours up to a day.

Volkswagen has demanded a 10% wage cut, arguing it needs to slash costs and boost profit to defend market share in the face of cheap competition from China and a drop in European car demand. It is also threatening to close plants in Germany for the first time in its 87-year history.

Labour representatives and management will meet again on Dec. 9 to carry on negotiations over a new labour agreement for workers at the German business – VW AG – with unions vowing to resist any proposals that do not provide a long-term plan for every VW plant.

The strikes, which could escalate into 24-hour or unlimited strikes if a deal is not struck in the next round of wage negotiations, will put a dent in Volkswagen’s output at a time when the carmaker is already facing declining deliveries and plunging profits.

“Volkswagen will determine at the negotiating table how long and how hard the conflict will be – the VW workforce throughout the country is ready to strike,” IG Metall said.

A proposal by unions to avoid redundancies and plant closures through measures including reduced working hours and forgoing bonuses will form the basis of the discussions. Still, management has said it is not ready to take plant closures off the negotiating table.

(Reporting by Friederike Heine, Victoria Waldersee and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Rachel More and Susan Fenton)